Handelsblatt

Germany must take responsibility for fighting climate change by continuing research into nuclear fusion, Julian Olk writes in a commentary for business daily Handelsblatt. "Climate protection must be the top priority for the electricity mix [but] green power is no panacea," Olk writes, pointing to low generation of renewable power on recent dull days and the challenges of storing renewable electricity. "Therefore, it makes sense if the state also invests into nuclear fusion research," he argues. In a separate article, Olk reports that Germany currently spends 137 million euros each year on domestic fusion research in four locations, including the experimental Wendelstein 7-X reactor, compared to 418 million euros spent on renewables research in 2017. Germany also supports the EU’s large-scale Iter fusion project in France via the EU budget.